The U.S. Department of Agriculture is forcing 200 Food Safety and Inspection Service employees to move from Washington, D.C., to areas in Iowa, Georgia and Colorado.
The reorganization is being billed as a way to streamline support functions. About 100 employees will remain in Washington, D.C., according to a statement from USDA officials.
The 200 employees who will be leaving the Washington, D.C. office will move to the National Center for Food Safety in Iowa, the Science Center in Georgia, and a new office in Fort Collins, Colorado, where employees will support international activities. The Department will also establish a new National Food Safety Center (NFSC) in Urbandale, IA, which will serve as the primary hub for Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) administrative, technical and support operations.
The Consumer Federation of America said the overhaul would likely dilute public services currently provided. And the federation said the agency is likely to become much smaller in the short term.
“Rather than reorganize FSIS, the administration will simply reassign most of its staff, a move similar to the Trump administration’s move of USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) from D.C. to Kansas City, Missouri, in 2019. Judging by these previous experiences, the new plan will further jeopardize an agency already struggling to carry out its consumer protection mission,” according to the federation.
USDA Undersecretary Stephen A. Vaden said the reorganization includes changes to goals to improve the agency’s day-to-day functioning.
“Consolidating support operations in Iowa, strengthening scientific operations in Georgia, and aligning staff with mission needs reduces duplication and improves accountability. This approach allows us to use resources efficiently while maintaining the high standards the public expects from our food safety system,” Vaden said.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will establish a new National Food Safety Center (NFSC) in an existing USDA space in Urbandale, Iowa. The center will be the largest office in the country, with approximately 200 employees.
NFSC will serve as the primary location for FSIS’ headquarters support functions, including resource management, training, food safety education, financial operations, information technology, and administrative services.
“By establishing the National Center for Food Safety in Iowa and expanding scientific capabilities, USDA is ensuring the Food Safety and Inspection Service is best positioned to support American agriculture and protect public health,” said USDA Secretary Brooke L. Rollins.
The reorganization also includes establishing a science center in Athens, Georgia. USDA officials said it will build on the agency’s existing Eastern Field Services Laboratory and expand its capabilities in microbiology, chemistry and epidemiology. The Science Center is designed to strengthen FSIS’s scientific leadership and ensure continued access to top-tier academic institutions, a strong public health workforce, and key industry partners.
The reorganization does not affect FSIS’s frontline inspection workforce, which represents 85% of employees and operates in more than 6,800 regulated meat and poultry plants.
“FSIS is a field-based public health agency, with the majority of our employees working on the front lines in facilities across the country,” said Justin Ransom, FSIS Administrator. “This reorganization strengthens how we support our employees by aligning key training, policy and technical expertise more closely with their work. The National Center for Food Safety will help us better prepare and support our workforce while creating new opportunities to attract and develop the next generation of food safety professionals.”
